New Dehli, India, Dec 13, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The Catholic Bishops of India have appealed for justice for the country’s Muslim minority which, in recent years, has been targeted by Hindu fundamentalists in various states of the federation, reported Fides. The Muslim community forms about 10 percent of the whole population.

In a statement, the bishops said they welcome the Justice Sachar Committee Report recently tabled in Parliament on the social-economic status of India’s Muslim community.

According to Fides, the Sachar Report states that the Muslim community is relatively poor, more illiterate, has less access to education, lower representation in public- and private-sector jobs and lower accessibility to bank credit for self-employment.

However, they also urged the central government to complete the Mishra Commission work on the socio-economic status of other minority communities in India, so the country may truly be a democracy of pluralism, tolerance, and respect for human rights, reported Fides.